On January 24th, XRA Records will release Baptist Girls, the debut album from Louisville, Kentucky’s Bro. Stephen (aka Stephen Scott Kirkpatrick). Filled with the impassioned stories of a soul-searching wanderer and primarily recorded in a converted chicken coop(!) with production help from Mike Adams At His Honest Weight, the album is pure heart-on-the-sleeve folk bliss. The first single, “Tears On Tape”, has been making the rounds online already but today I’m thrilled to present you with another cut from this stunning debut. “Domino”, a haunting ode to love gone cold but not forgotten, is one of several tracks on the record that find Bro. Stephen teaming up with Cheyenne Marie Mize (Yep Roc, Roaring Colonel, Bonnie “Prince” Billy). The blending of their voices is entrancing, and as the warm strums of an electric guitar fuzz over sparsely played piano, acoustic guitar and drums, you can hear the influence of The Microphones/Mount Eerie subtly being commemorated. It’s a beautiful thing to get lost in.
Bro. Stephen - “Domino”
Baptist Girls is now available for preorder on CD and vinyl over at XRA. (Note that the vinyl includes two bonus tracks not included on the CD!). If you haven’t already, stream another of the album’s many standouts, “Tears On Tape”, below.
Bro. Stephen - “Tears On Tape”
On March 27th, Sub Pop will release Illusions, the debut EP from Poor Moon. The quartet consists of Fleet Foxes’ Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott along with brothers Ian and Peter Murray of The Christmas Cards and, refreshingly, they sound nothing like what you might expect. Fans of The Zombies and 60s psych pop, this will be your year.
Poor Moon - “People In Her Mind”
Poor Moon - “Once Before”
Following the high-soaring sounds of the “Seagulls” single, released by Flannelgraph back in March of last year, Marion, Indiana’s Burke Sullivan, aka New Terrors, has kept relatively quiet. That is until today, when a video teaser for “Snakeskin” appeared online, featuring some truly mesmerizing sounds set atop slow motion footage of life in the town of Fairmont, Indiana, the hometown and resting place of legendary rebel James Dean. The song will appear on an upcoming EP, which Flannelgraph will release sometime in the near future.
Hello friends. So I’ve returned from a long and much needed holiday and found that I’ve missed out on posting a whole heap of good stuff that you really oughta know about if you don’t already. So that’s what this is. Hope you find something you dig. Also, on the 11th, this lil’ blog turned a whopping two years old. Just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have stopped by and tuned in along the way. I look forward to continue bringing you more jams until the Mayans kill us all in December.
 Bloomington, Indiana’s Tammar stopped by the ever-reliable Daytrotter studio to record a four-song live session, featuring a new, currently untitled song, as well as highlights from their Suicide Squeeze debut, Visits. Stream and download it here. (Also, big congrats to the band’s Ben and Sara Wyatt Swanson, who became parents over the holiday!) |
Gangi - “Outside Ones”
The Shins are back with “Simple Song”, the first single from their forthcoming album Port of Morrow, out March 20th. Listen at least three times and its brilliance will fully reveal itself to you. Stream it below and pre-order the album here.
MOJO has released a compilation of bands covering songs from New Order’s 1983 classic Power, Corruption and Lies. Destroyer, the creator of 2011’s best record (imho), provides an exceptional take on “Leave Me Alone”. Stream it below.
Trevor Powers, aka Boise, Idaho’s Youth Lagoon, recently performed a heart-wrenching cover of John Denver’s “Goodbye Again” for Sirius XMU. Stream/download it below, then watch the bloody new video for The Year of Hibernation standout “July”. Friendly reminder that Powers and co. will play Amsterdam’s Paradiso on February 20th. If you’re having any doubts about whether or not you should attend, let YVYNL’s Mark Schoneveld convince you.
Youth Lagoon - “July”
The War On Drugs made their television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon this week, performing “Baby Missiles” from last year’s Slave Ambient with some rhythmic assistance from The Roots’ ?uestlove. Big fan of the drummer’s old school Indiana Pacers tee too. Baby Missiles? More like Boom Baby Missiles. Watch it below, courtesy of The Audio Perv, and don’t forget to mark your calendars - the band will play Amsterdam’s Melkweg on February 15th.
The War On Drugs - “Baby Missiles” Live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
So that’s it for 2011. Heard lots of great albums, saw lots of great shows and managed to learn at least three new Dutch words. (The most fun one to say being “uitverkocht”). These lists are always tough to finalize but I had to pour the cement at some point. As always, thanks for stopping by. I’ll be seein’ you again in January. Happy holidays, ya’ll! xxx - John
 | 20. Arches - Wide Awake Album Out Now - Self-released |
 | 19. Pure X - Pleasure Album Out Now on Acéphale |
 | 18. Lifeguards - Waving at the Astronauts Album Out Now on Serious Business |
 | 17. Active Child - You Are All I See Album Out Now on Vagrant |
 | 16. Chad VanGaalen - Diaper Island Album Out Now on Flemish Eye |
 | 15. The Weeknd - House of Balloons Album Out Now - Self-released |
 | 14. Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues Album Out Now on Sub Pop |
 | 13. Peaking Lights - 936 Album Out Now on Not Not Fun |
 | 12. Amor de Días - Street of the Love of Days Album Out Now on Merge |
 | 11. Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde Album Out Now on Fat Possum |
 | 10. Youth Lagoon - The Year of Hibernation Album Out Now on Fat Possum |
 | 9. Bon Iver - Bon Iver Album Out Now on Jagjaguwar |
 | 8. Julian Lynch - Terra Album Out Now on Underwater Peoples |
 | 7. The War On Drugs - Slave Ambient Album Out Now on Secretly Canadian |
 | 6. Tammar - Visits Album Out Now on Suicide Squeeze |
 | 5. Evenings - Lately 2011 certainly saw its share of groundbreaking electronic albums and EPs, but nothing stuck with me and actually got better with time than Evenings’ Lately. I’m constantly amazed by Nathan Broaddus, the mastermind behind the moniker, and his ability to create music that sounds warm, organic and intimate all at the same time. But what’s most amazing to me is that this dude is still unsigned. Album Out Now - Self-released |
 | 4. Radiohead - The King of Limbs The King of Limbs threw me for a loop at first - more so than Kid A initially did, come to think of it. Until this year, I’d never heard Radiohead sound so frigid, distant or uninviting. But then I listened to the record twice and I’ve been living happily with it out in the boonies of my mind ever since. Album Out Now - Self-released |
 | 3. John Maus - We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves |
 | 2. Real Estate - Days On Days, Real Estate’s nearly flawless second album, nothing knocks me out like the 1-2-3 punch of “Out of Tune”, “Municipality” and “Wonder Years”. Throw in the lawn chair ease of “Green Aisles” and mini monster hit “It’s Real” and you’re hearing the sound of a band climbing over their seats in the “promising new act” section of the arena and diving head first into the spotlight of the ring. Album Out Now on Domino |
 | 1. Destroyer - Kaputt No matter the season, no matter my mood, there was no album I took comfort in more throughout 2011 than Destroyer’s Kaputt. Canadian lover Dan Bejar’s tranquil, brass-filled jams managed to channel the most seductive bits of Pure Moods and, despite the slew of great albums that came out this year, this is the only one I’d confidently call a classic. Album Out Now on Merge |
20 Best Albums of 2010
20 Best Albums of 2009
